My son just moved into a new modular home and the arc fault breakers are giving him headaches.
microwave trips the breaker every time if the oven is on. (and sometimes if it is not)
Couple other circuits are also flipping from computers, coffee pots, …
wondering how many other folks have had issues with these breakers.
Replies
As far as I understand, those types of breakers typically need a dedicated neutral for each circuit. If a neutral is shared between two hots, the breaker will trip when both the hots are active, which could be your problem. I would check to make sure that each circuit has its own neutral, that may be the problem.
I've had similar problems. Sometimes a different AFCI will behave better. I have one grinder that will pop the AFCI every time on one circuit, but be fine on a different one. I suspect it's a technology that's not quite ready for prime time, which is too bad- I had a house fire that may have been due to an arc fault, so I'd really like to have functioning AFCIs in my load center.
The code says that Arc Fault breakers are not used in Kitchens or other areas [Bath, Garage, etc] where GFCI's are required. So Microwave and oven should NOT be controlled by Arc Fault breakers.